Depression and deliberate self-harm among Chinese left-behind adolescents: A dual role of resilience

Existing literature supports the association between depression and deliberate self-harm (DSH), a prominent risk factor of suicide. Our major aim was to evaluate the possible moderation and mediation of resilience in depression-DSH association, an issue which has never been extensively discussed among Chinese left-behind children (LBC). We implemented a population-based cross-sectional study of 2,619 LBC aged from 10 to 17. Multivariate logistic regression model which incorporated the cross-product term of resilience and depression was used to determine the moderation effect of resilience in depression-DSH association, whereas the mediating role of resilience was measured by path analysis. We found that depression was positively associated with DSH whereas resilience was negatively associated with DSH. Resilience in general was a prominent effect moderator in depression-DSH association, meanwhile, resilience also played as a significant mediator in this association, accounted for 26.8 % of the total effect. Our findings indicated that resilience was important moderator and mediator in the association between depression and DSH among Chinese LBC. Building up resilience of LBC may be an ideal choice in preventing depression related DSH.